The Nation

President Reagan signed into law a bill designed to crack down on fraudulent marriages between U.S. citizens and aliens by closing loopholes in immigration laws. The legislation was aimed at marriages in which an alien marries an American to obtain a residency card and quickly disappears and in which a U.S. citizen accepts payment for helping an alien gain permanent residency by marriage. Marriage to a U.S. citizen, in most cases, instantly results in immigrant status requiring no visa number or certificate from the Department of Labor.